At IV Wellness in Winter Park, FL, we are dedicated to your overall wellness. We understand that aging signs can hurt your confidence, so we’re proud to offer several anti-aging treatments. Today, we’ll be talking about one of our most popular anti-aging treatments, Restylane, including how long you can expect your ideal results to last, how soon you can expect to see them, and how you can extend the longevity of your results.
How Long Does Restylane Last?
You can generally expect your ideal Restylane results to last for four to 10 months. While individual results vary, you can generally expect to enjoy your ideal results for four to six months if you are augmenting your lips or erasing mouth wrinkles. You can generally expect to enjoy your ideal results for six to 10 months if you are treating other areas, like your hands or chest.
What Can I Do To Extend My Results?
For ideal results that last as long as possible, you need to make the health of your skin one of your top priorities. For example, you need to make sure that you get enough nutrients every day for your skin to produce the proteins it needs to stay healthy. Eating plenty of protein daily is crucial for the longevity of your results because protein is made up of amino acids. When you eat or drink protein, your body breaks it down into the amino acids that make it up.
Then, these amino acids are used for a number of functions, including producing collagen and elastin. In addition to making sure you eat plenty of protein every day, it is extremely important that you get your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. Your skin also needs this to produce collagen, a protein that is involved in cellular repair, cellular growth, and keeping your skin taut. Here are some other steps you can take to improve your skin health.
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is another highly effective step you can take to ensure you enjoy your ideal results for as long as possible. One reason hydration is vital for the longevity of your results is that the collagen and elastin in your skin that keep it looking young, tight, smooth, and healthy requires water to stay strong. Another reason it is important to remain hydrated is that your skin needs water to produce these supportive proteins.
Make sure you are drinking enough water and other hydrating fluids that you excrete very pale or clear urine. If your urine is bright, you are probably hydrated but consuming more vitamin B than you need. Consuming an excess amount of water-soluble vitamins can affect the color of your urine. If your urine is dark, you need to drink more hydrating fluids, increase your sodium intake to help you retain water, or eat more foods that are high in water.
Walk
Getting at least 2.5 hours of moderate aerobic exercise will also help your ideal results stick around for as long as possible. The reason for this is that aerobic exercise supports your cardiovascular system. The stronger your cardiovascular system is, the more efficiently nutrients can circulate throughout your bloodstream. This helps to ensure that the treated areas remain nourished. Other effective aerobic exercises include cycling, spinning, swimming, and rowing.
Wear Sunscreen
There are many external factors that can affect the health of your collagen and diminish your results quickly. One of the most significant factors is UVC rays. UV light exposure will damage the collagen that is supporting your skin and make it harder for your body to replenish its collagen. To combat the devastating effects of UV rays, minimize the amount of time you spend outside during 10 AM and 4 PM. During this window, especially between 10 and 2, the sun’s rays are most powerful.
If possible, minimize your exposure to sunlight during this time even when indoors. Regardless of whether you’re sitting in a corner office without blinds or you’re behind the wheel of a vehicle with tinted windows, UV rays can penetrate glass and damage your skin. Another effective step you can take to mitigate the risk of sun damage is to wear a broad-spectrum sun protectant with an SPF of at least 35 diligently. Make sure you reapply every four hours for maximum efficacy.
Moisturize
Applying sunscreen isn’t the only effective step you can incorporate into your daily skincare routine. Moisturizing your skin is something else you should do every day. It is generally advisable to moisturize in the morning to keep moisture locked in as you go about your day, exposing yourself to sunlight and pollutants, like cigarette smoke or car exhaust.
However, you may want to moisturize at night if you take a hot bath or shower right before bed. Moisture escapes through your skin’s pores when the skin is exposed to hot water. Patting off with a soft towel gently and moisturizing your skin thoroughly after bathing or showering will help to lock moisture in. If you have dry skin, you should strongly consider moisturizing your skin every 12 hours to ensure the outer layers of your skin are hydrated.
How Soon Can I Expect To See My Desired Results?
As soon as the injectable is administered, you will notice an improvement in the appearance of the treatment area. However, this improvement is very temporary and only due to the localized volume increase from the hyaluronic acid placed in the areas of concern. One of hyaluronic acid’s most beneficial properties is its hydrophilic nature. It attracts and binds to magnitudes more than its molecular weight in water molecules, making the treated areas look plump.
Generally, you can expect to see your desired results 10 to 14 days after this polysaccharide is injected into the foundational layer of your skin. It is at this point that your body breaks down the hyaluronic acid and uses its components and the extra water in the area to produce a significant amount of extra collagen. Collagen, in its own right, provides a significant amount of volume. Its mesh-like structure also allows it to act as scaffolding, keeping the skin tight.
Am I a Good Candidate for This Treatment?
You need to come in for an initial evaluation to verify that you are a good candidate for Restylane injections. Generally, adults who are at least 21 years of age will qualify for these injections. However, regardless of your age, you need to come in for a meeting with an aesthetic expert to verify your candidacy. If you have cosmetic concerns that are caused by overactive muscles, this injectable will not help you achieve the smooth skin you desire.
Rather, you will need to get Botox injections to relax the overly tense muscles and the wrinkled skin on top of the muscles. This anti-aging treatment will only be considered appropriate for you if you are 21 or older, relatively healthy, and have cosmetic concerns that are caused by moderate or severe volume loss.
Who Is a Poor Candidate for This Treatment?
You may be considered a poor candidate for this treatment if you suffer from certain medical conditions, like heart disease. To qualify for this treatment, you must be able to follow all preparation guidelines, including not taking NSAIDs prior to treatment. It is also important that you can safely stop taking MAOIs for a time. If your psychiatrist has prescribed you an MAOI for your depression, ask them if you can come off of your pharmaceutical temporarily.
Furthermore, pregnancy or nursing will disqualify you from this anti-aging injection. While this injectable is FDA-approved for most adults who are 21 or older, it is not cleared for pregnant or nursing women due to a lack of research on the potential effects on a fetus or infant. Skin irritation at the planned injection site, like a topical allergy or rosacea, will also preclude you from this effective anti-aging treatment.
What Preparation Steps Will I Need To Take?
Attending an initial consultation with an aesthetic expert is, by far, the most important preparation step you will need to take. During this consultation, we will advise you on all of the things you need to do and avoid to make sure your treatment goes smoothly and you get the best possible results. Two of the most important things to avoid prior to your treatment are alcohol and tobacco products. Nicotine and alcohol affect your blood pressure and circulation.
This can affect both your treatment and results. Furthermore, it is extremely important to avoid any skincare products, including topical preventative acne medications, that contain retinol. This derivative of vitamin A can cause skin sensitivity, and it is important that your skin is not irritated when you come in for your appointment. You should also avoid any cosmetic treatments that can lead to skin irritation before your treatment session.
What Else Should I Avoid Prior to My Treatment?
To mitigate the risk of skin irritation at the time of your treatment session, it is vital that you take steps to avoid sunburn. Limit the amount of time you spend in the sun when its UV rays are the most powerful, and make sure you wear sunscreen every day.It is also important to mitigate the risk of skin irritation by avoiding the use of certain hair removal techniques, like depilatory creams, waxing, or tweezing in the treatment area prior to your session.
What Can I Expect After My Treatment Session?
To clarify a point we brought up earlier, you should only expect to see your ideal results after 10 to 14 days if you only need one treatment session to achieve your ideal results. If you need two treatment sessions to boost collagen production in your problem areas sufficiently, you may need to wait around a month for your final results to become apparent.
It is also worth noting that you should expect no pain or discomfort after your injections are administered. You should also know that there is no downtime required so you won’t need to use PTO.
Schedule an Appointment Today
Do you think you would feel more confident if you could eliminate wrinkles and fine lines from your face? Do you feel self-conscious about veiny, bony hands that make you look older than you feel? If so, you may benefit from Restylane injections that can last for up to 10 months. Schedule an appointment today at IV Wellness in Winter Park, FL to learn more about this incredible anti-aging treatment, including whether it’s right for you.